With “Mercy” and “New God Flow” permanently added to this summer’s spinlist, Kanye West and the rest of his G.O.O.D. Music crew are ready to proceed with the larger album. “Cruel Summer” will be out officially on Sept. 4, featuring verses and music from West, John Legend, Common, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Big Sean, Q-Tip, Mr. Hudson, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi, D”Banj, Hit-Boy and 2 Chainz.
The latter artist — who has been the featured rapper of the year, it seems — is not officially signed to Ye’s label, though he clarifies in an interview with Complex magazine that he and the esteemed Watch the Throne rhymer are still sussing out a deal.
“I”m not officially signed, paperwork-wise, to G.O.O.D. Music. But I have a great rapport with “Ye. He called me before ‘Watch the Throne’ came out,” the Atlanta-bred rapper said. “I”ve talked to “Ye 1,000 times about trying to make this situation work for the both of us, so it won”t feel like anyone is getting used or anything… I came from a situation with [Disturbing tha Peace], being under [Ludacris], where I got a phobia. Sometimes when an artist signs another artist, they”re so worried about themselves. And with “Ye, he helps everybody.”
Yeezy is keeping his word on press blackout, considering his bumpy past with interviews, Twitter, public appearances, and basically everything else that doesn’t involve him rapping. But a press release touted the successful run of his “Cruel Summer” video concept, a seven-screen experience that bowed at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It was conceptually built around the album, so if there is a live tour run of G.O.O.D. Music, perhaps fans will get a eyeful as well as an earful.
The remainder of the Complex interview was interesting, to have A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip (one of Kanye’s latest signees) sitting next to Common sitting next to Kid Cudi and so forth. One interesting tidbit that Pusha T revealed was that the beat to Jay-Z and West’s “Watch the Throne” hit “N*ggas in Paris” was originally offered to him.
“You passed on that?” Tip asked.
Pusha: “Yeah.”
“Get the f*ck out of here,” Big Sean retorted.
“He ain”t lying,” 2 Chainz chimed. “I thought Pusha had that beat. I heard that three or four times, and it wasn”t for him.”
Well, it’s good that SOMEBODY laid claim…
Speaking of claim, where is the label’s sole female member, Teyana Taylor? Lotta dudes, and no ladies…
My one other favorite moment is when Cudder waxes philosophical on music. Mind you, it’s not what he had to say, but just the way he said it: “Sometimes in hip-hop people forget about the bed that the lyrics lay in. You can enjoy the raps, and you can enjoy the music at the same time-to the point you don”t mind hearing it for another 30 to 35 seconds. It”s like back in the day, with motherf*ckers like Mozart. There wasn”t no f*cking words on that sh*t. It was just sounds and beautiful-ass melodies. That”s what was entertaining to people.”
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: motherf*cker.
“Mercy” featuring Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz; and “New God Flow” featuring West and Pusha are out now. Stream both below.
G.O.O.D. Music’s “Cruel Summer” will arrive just a year and a month after Jay-Z and West dropped “Watch the Throne.”